Where's the unity, Democrats?

In today’s more partisan age, many assume Democratic control of Congress and the White House means miles of smooth sailing for the majority. And a lot of the time it does.

Yet the ongoing spat between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the CIA also reveals some tricky shoals just below the surface. Does the president side with his legislative leader or a critical agency in his own administration? It’s a tough choice.

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This specific drama will play out in the weeks ahead, but it’s also emblematic of a much larger ongoing institutional tension between the executive and legislative branches. And while it’s not often as visible as the current Pelosi-CIA dust-up, it occurs in one form or another on a daily basis. Understanding the competition and these strains between the branches of government — even among those in the same party — is key to grasping how Washington really works.

In many ways, unified party control in Washington greases the achievement wheels. Look at the majority party’s achievements so far this year. Democrats in Congress and the Obama White House glided to easy victories on a host of issues, including the stimulus bill, the budget and children’s health.

True, getting there meant navigating some rarely exposed tough and messy internal negotiations. But Congress and the president belted out some pretty nice harmonies in these first few months. In fact, based on their early success, the Democrats and the Obama White House sounded like they sang in unison.

But the Pelosi fight with the CIA underscores a deeper truth: Congress and the president are — to borrow presidential scholar Richard Neustadt’s phrase — “separate institutions sharing power.”

Currently, Pelosi is taking major issue with the CIA’s specific behavior regarding her being briefed with respect to its use of torture. While the personal dimension of this interaction is apparent, at its core this is an institutional spat. She, like many of her colleagues in the Democratic Caucus, believes the agency misled them. Many in Congress, not just Democrats, could argue that this type of treatment by the CIA might have gotten worse but that it did not begin during the last administration. They suggest that it is illustrative of the intelligence agency’s inherent disregard for Congress.

The decision by President Barack Obama to allow a public defense of the CIA by its current director was obviously made with knowledge of the potential risk and consequence to his administration’s congressional relationships and possibly even aspects of his policy agenda. Nevertheless, when faced with this trade-off, the president’s institutional concerns prevailed.

This dynamic was probably further complicated by Obama’s decision to reverse himself in deciding not to release photos involving potential mistreatment of prisoners. It appeared he was acknowledging the advice of the CIA and others in the government while irritating liberal interests on Capitol Hill and elsewhere.

The lesson from all this is clear. Despite many common interests, in the end, the president and Congress have separate agendas and constituencies. When they intersect, it’s great for both sides. But when they don’t — and this happens even when the same party controls Congress and the White House — it creates major tensions and embarrassing spectacles. The current Pelosi-CIA spat is just one more example.

If these fights were only about reconciling political spats, they would be easier to resolve. But they are not. These underlying tensions are more institutional than political. They even transcend partisan loyalty. Their origins are in the Constitution.

It’s tempting to think Democrats in Congress and the Obama administration always share interests. They are, after all, members of the same party. But they don’t. Individual lawmakers will normally pursue what’s best for their own electoral timing and institutional goals.

Presidents do the same. When the interests of a Democratic president align with his party in Congress, the wheels of legislation turn cooperatively. But when they don’t and legislators and the White House pursue their own institutional interests, the grind causes some friction.

These challenges will continue to be front and center as the president and Congress turn their attention to the looming issues of health care and climate change, among others. Meanwhile, from the sound of it, Pelosi and the White House are feeling the heat generated by these conflicting demands right now.

Gary Andres, vice chairman for research and policy at Dutko Worldwide, was deputy assistant to President George H.W. Bush and Senate confirmation coordinator for President George W. Bush. Patrick J. Griffin, a partner at Griffin Williams Critical Point Management, served as assistant to President Bill Clinton and director of congressional affairs.